I was lucky enough to catch up with Kirsten Wagner, Producer of Hated and one of the talented souls behind “Royal We Films”. So. What is this film about? Well, it’s a straight-shooting look at the gritty side of the music industry.

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It’s about “when you have a band that works so hard and all the people around them work so hard to get their music out there and get them seen,” Wagner says, “When the wheels are in motion it goes so fast and then all of a sudden you have the big time manager, the big time PR person, the big company pushing you and then sometimes you get fall out or separation”

That’s the short version. Just a single viewing of this trailer lets you know that there’s a lot going on in this film.

Wagner says Hated is “high quality, low-budget,” and from the sounds of it it’s been a labor of love for people involved in the industry. With the likes of John Doe (formerly of punk band X) and Ari Up(The Slits) lending their sound to the film it certainly has street cred.

Ari Up’s work with the Slits was on the forefront of the Riot Grrrl movement. Sadly, Ari Up died on October 20, 2010 before the film was ready to be released but her unique sound will live on in the soundtrack.

Matthew Hutchinson, who plays band member Peter in the film is also from the music side of things. Hutchinson is the front man for Our Mountain (formerly some of the talent behind Whiskey Go Go) Curious? You can download Our Mountain‘s new song here for free on their official website.

According to Wagner, the film has “eight solid roles” for the actors and actresses who stepped up to be involved. Genevieve Padalecki ( Cortese) is one of the leads in the film. Probably most well-known for her roles as turn-coat Demon on the CW’s Supernatural and Tracy Stark on ABC’s FlashForward – Cortese plays a character that Wagner hinted may be based partially on a real figure in the music industry. Guess we’ll have to wait and see the film to try to figure out who that is.

“It’s an accurate portrayal of all the pitfalls,” says Wagner. “It’s not really what you’d call a feel good movie about the music industry.” Why? Well, amongst other things Hated has an egotistical lead singer, a stoner bass player and enough inner turmoil to be more than realistic. But that’s what the music industry can be like and it might be refreshing to see this take on it.